The Cultural Review

Synthetic Pigments

1 article

JMW Turner in his studio, surrounded by art supplies, intensely painting a landscape with a brilliant blue sky using newly synthesized Cobalt Blue pigment.
Art

What Is Cobalt Blue and Why Did It Revolutionize Art?

JMW Turner's oil sketch of Goring Mill and Church, painted in 1806-07, features the earliest recorded use of Cobalt Blue, a pigment synthesized just years prior.

Matteo Ricci·June 21, 2026